On Monday the President offered ways to pay for his $467 billion American Jobs Act mostly by increasing taxes on the wealthy.

I’m all in favor, but it’s an odd strategy. If any Republican was prepared to vote for the jobs bill, this will send him or her scurrying

Reich is right, of course. There's no way the tax hike Obama proposed will pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

But I suspect it was never meant to pass.

Obama probably intends to trade away the tax hike in order to get the spending. Republicans talk a hard line on spending but they aren't really that opposed to it. What they really, really hate is tax hikes.

Better to to run the deficit up by another $500 billion than raise taxes.